Police Officer Support Scheme disputes

On 27 September 2024, the NSW Government established the new Police Officer Support Scheme to support NSW police officers who are injured at work. The Scheme replaced the Police Blue Ribbon Insurance Scheme and was established by amendments made to the Police Act 1990, the Police Regulation 2015 and the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020. The Police Regulation 2015 has now been superseded by the Police Regulation 2025. The Scheme is to be found in Part 8 of the 2025 Regulation.

The Police Officer Support Scheme has a focus on injury prevention, rehabilitation and supporting officers to return to work. Wherever it applies, the new Scheme provides eligible officers who are injured on duty, and are in receipt of weekly workers compensation, with supplementary support benefits for up to seven years. There is a possibility of extension for up to three additional years in cases of catastrophic or exceptional injury.

The Commission has power to hear and determine disputes in relation to decisions made under the Police Officer Support Scheme, and as prescribed by the Police Regulation 2025. That includes disputed decisions to decline to make payments to an officer, decisions about the amount of a payment to be made to an officer, and decisions about the length of catastrophic or exceptional injury payments.

The Police Officer Support Scheme Division undertakes this work, and comprises a Division Head and members appointed by the Attorney General. The President has also appointed medical assessors to the Division.

The dispute resolution model for the Division mirrors the current workers compensation model as far as practicable, to reduce process trauma for officers who also have a workers compensation dispute before the Commission. Conciliation will be used as a first step to resolving disputes, meaning the Commission will work collaboratively with parties to try to assist them to reach an agreement without a formal determination. Where an agreement cannot be reached, the Commission will decide the dispute through arbitration.

A general medical dispute may be referred to a medical assessor, on a discretionary basis, by the President or a member, but in most cases members will engage in conciliation to resolve the issues and in the absence of resolution, will proceed to determination. As in the Workers Compensation Division, the Police Officer Support Scheme Division also allows parties to appeal from a member’s decision to a Presidential Member (and subsequently, the Court of Appeal), and to appeal from a medical assessment certificate to a Medical Appeal Panel.

The Commission’s rules and procedures will be updated from time to time as needed, and the Personal Injury Commission Rule Committee now also includes a representative of the Police Commissioner.

Applications to lodge a dispute under the Police Officer Support Scheme can be made by registering for the Pathway Portal and completing a Form 2 (Application to Resolve a Dispute). The application must include all information relevant to the dispute in an indexed and paginated bundle, as further evidence may not be able to be added later.

The Commission’s 500-page limit applies to supporting material for disputes lodged under the Police Officer Support Scheme. If a party intends to rely on more than 500 pages of supporting material, they will need to make an application to lodge additional documents and seek leave to have those documents introduced into the proceedings.

For more information, please view our fact sheet: Understanding the Police Officer Support Scheme.